From a borrowed gene that helped mice live longer, to a chunk of metal that managed to be in two places at once, this week’s stories cross the full sweep of science. We’ve also got salamanders, a spacecraft preparing to slingshot past Mars, and a warning from cardiologists about what’s on your plate.
1. A naked mole rat gene helps mice live longer
Researchers at the University of Rochester have transferred a longevity-related gene from naked mole rats into mice — and the mice ended up healthier and lived a little longer. Naked mole rats are unusually long-lived rodents that rarely develop cancer, and one of their secrets appears to be unusually high levels of a molecule called high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA). When the team engineered mice to carry the mole rat version of the gene that produces it, the modified animals showed stronger resistance to tumours, less age-related inflammation, healthier guts, and a 4.4% increase in median lifespan. The increase sounds small, but the bigger story is the proof of principle: a longevity adaptation from one mammal can be exported to another.
Think About It: If we could safely add a “borrowed” gene to humans, should we? What ethical questions would scientists, doctors and society need to answer first?
Image credit: AI/ScienceDaily.com — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceDaily
2. A tiny lump of metal in two places at once
Physicists at the University of Vienna and the University of Duisburg-Essen have pushed quantum weirdness to a record-breaking new scale. They fired sodium nanoparticles made of between 5,000 and 10,000 atoms through three ultraviolet laser “diffraction gratings” and showed that the particles behaved as quantum waves, occupying multiple paths at the same time — a so-called Schrödinger cat state. Each particle measured about 8 nanometres across and was heavier than most proteins, yet still produced a clear quantum interference pattern. To match this level of precision using single electrons, scientists would need to keep an electron in superposition for nearly 100 million years. Published in Nature, the result is the strongest test yet that quantum mechanics keeps working even as objects start to look almost macroscopic.
Think About It: If quantum mechanics works for objects this big, why don’t everyday objects like footballs or pencils ever appear in two places at once?
Image credit: AI/ScienceDaily.com — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceDaily
3. A “holy grail” gene for regrowing limbs
By comparing limb-regrowing axolotls, fin-regrowing zebrafish and digit-tip-regrowing mice, an international team led by Wake Forest University has found a shared set of “SP genes” that switch on whenever these animals regenerate body parts. Using CRISPR to delete the genes SP6 and SP8, the researchers showed that axolotls could no longer regrow proper limb bones and mice struggled to regenerate digit tips. Then they fought back: using a gene therapy inspired by zebrafish biology, they delivered a signalling molecule called FGF8 and partially restored regeneration in mice. Published in PNAS, the work is an early but encouraging step toward future treatments that might one day help amputees grow living tissue instead of relying solely on prosthetics.
Think About It: Humans share most of these genes too. Why might evolution have switched off our ability to regrow whole limbs, even though we still have the genetic machinery for it?
Image credit: Wake Forest University — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceDaily
4. Cardiologists sound the alarm on ultra-processed foods
A major report in the European Heart Journal from the European Society of Cardiology has warned that diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) — think packaged snacks, fizzy drinks, ready meals and many fast foods — are linked to up to a 19% higher risk of heart disease, a 13% higher risk of atrial fibrillation, and as much as a 65% higher risk of cardiovascular death. UPFs are typically high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, and contain additives and altered food structures that can trigger inflammation, disrupt the gut microbiome and encourage overeating. In some European countries, UPFs now make up more than half of the calories people eat each day. The authors are urging doctors to start asking patients about UPF intake as part of routine check-ups.
Think About It: How would you define “ultra-processed” if you had to explain it to a friend? Where should the line sit between “processed” and “ultra-processed” food?
Image credit: Shutterstock — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceDaily
5. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft prepares to slingshot past Mars
On Friday 15 May, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will skim just 2,800 miles (4,500 km) above the surface of Mars at around 12,333 mph. The close pass is not a science visit but a gravity assist — Mars’s gravity will speed Psyche up and bend its path toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, which the probe will start orbiting in 2029. The flyby also gives mission planners a rare chance to calibrate the spacecraft’s camera, magnetometer and gamma-ray spectrometer on a much bigger target than the tiny dots they normally see. Because Psyche approaches from Mars’s night side, the planet will appear as a thin crescent in early images, then “fill out” after the spacecraft passes. The team is even hoping to spot a faint dust ring kicked up around Mars by tiny strikes on its moons.
Think About It: How does a “gravity assist” actually change a spacecraft’s speed without using any fuel? Where does the extra energy come from?
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceDaily
6. Turning plastic rubbish into clean hydrogen with sunlight
Researchers at Adelaide University, writing in Chem Catalysis, are developing a process that turns waste plastic into hydrogen fuel using nothing more exotic than sunlight. The technique, called solar-driven photoreforming, uses light-sensitive materials called photocatalysts to break down plastics at relatively low temperatures, releasing hydrogen gas along with useful chemicals such as acetic acid and even diesel-range hydrocarbons. Plastics, being rich in carbon and hydrogen, are actually easier to oxidise than water, so this approach can be more energy-efficient than the usual water-splitting route to “green” hydrogen. Some prototype systems have run continuously for more than 100 hours. Big challenges remain — different plastics behave differently, additives interfere, and catalysts still degrade — but the idea of using pollution itself as a feedstock for clean fuel is genuinely exciting.
Think About It: If we got really good at turning plastic into fuel, could it actually encourage us to make more plastic? How might scientists and policymakers stop a clean technology from creating a new problem?
Image credit: AI/ScienceDaily.com — view source image
Originally reported by: ScienceDaily
From the genetics of long life to the strangeness of the quantum world, this week’s stories show science doing what it does best — taking ideas that sound impossible and pinning them down with careful experiments. Which one stuck with you the most? Share this roundup with a curious friend, or drop a comment below to keep the conversation going.
Discover more from Practical Science
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.